When I was younger I loved the library, I frequently took out the maximum amount of books possible and devour them over the few weeks. I especially loved my school’s library, where I could read at lunch, and also a second book allowance!!

While I was at uni though, I stopped (at least for fiction books), and started buying all my books. I don’t know why I stopped, I can only guess it was because while at Uni I was busy so books that I bought, and so didn’t have to give back, could be read at any time.

This continued for years, especially when I got my kindle. By this time I had moved to Somerset, and my small town’s library is equally small. I had popped in there and was shocked to see how small it was, especially since the last library I had stepped in was my Uni’s which was huge in comparison, and also had fond memories of my hometown’s town centre library which was substantial. Obviously I realise where I live now is much smaller than where I grew up, but I somehow hoped it would be like the Tardis from Doctor Who and magically be bigger on the inside, enough to hold the selection I crave.

Now, I know you can order from other libraries in the area, but that costs £1, which isn’t a lot, but I always reasoned for a few quid more I could own it, and since my library is so small, I’d need to order almost everything I would want to read, and obviously then there is pressure to read it in a certain time period. If my library’s area doesn’t have the book, it’s £4 to get it from outside, which is even closer to the book price (especially with new releases in supermarkets being about £4 or less). I’m not saying libraries shouldn’t charge, but I am fortunate enough to be able to afford books regularly, within reason of course, unfortunately I can’t visit Foyles in London and just give them bags of money, while telling them “I’d like one of everything please!”. So with this (admittedly flawed) reasoning, I never really even thought about the library for a number of years.

It wasn’t till about May 2014 when I needed to start listening to audiobooks that I looked into the online services provided and found that my library had them available, so the next weekend I visited another local library, not in my town, but in the nearest town with a bigger town centre and signed up for a library card. While there I looked in their bigger library I was actually impressed, and while they didn’t have all the new releases, there are and always will be books I miss in a years release, so instantly took a selection out. Since then, while I still buy a lot (some may say too many) I frequently spend some time on Saturdays, while waiting for Simon’s piano lesson to end, looking at any books I’ve not seen in previous visits that might interest me.

I’m so glad I re-discovered the library, as it’s a valuable resource for people who love books, especially those who don’t want to buy books every time they want one, or simply a chance to discover new authors for free – providing you return them on time 😉 something I was terrible at with my school books, and also it’s important for children, so they can experience the joy books can bring and get into reading, as that is certainly where mine started.

So without more rambling, here’s the 10 (!!) books I decided to take out over the weekend 🙂

The First Phone Call from Heaven by Mitch AlbomThe First Phone Call from Heaven tells the story of a small town on Lake Michigan that gets worldwide attention when its citizens start receiving phone calls from the afterlife. Is it the greatest miracle ever or a massive hoax? Sully Harding, a grief-stricken single father, is determined to find out. An allegory about the power of belief–and a page-turner that will touch your soul–Albom’s masterful storytelling has never been so moving and unexpected.

Rule 1: Never ask him on a first date. Rule 2: Laugh admiringly at all his jokes. Rule 3: Always leave him wanting more.

…WTF?!

Have you heard of The Rules of Engagement? It’s a book that promises to teach you to find the man of your dreams in ten easy steps. Unsurprisingly, I don’t own a copy. What is it, 1892?

But I’m a journalist, and I’ve promised to follow it to the letter and write about the results. Nevermind that my friends think I’m insane, I’m stalking men all over town and can’t keep my mouth shut at the best of times.

My name is Cat Buchanan. I’m thirty-six years old and live with my daughter in Glasgow. I’ve been single for six years, but that’s about to change. After all, I’m on a deadline.

Princess Eadlyn has grown up hearing endless stories about how her mother and father met. Twenty years ago, America Singer entered the Selection and won the heart of Prince Maxon—and they lived happily ever after. Eadlyn has always found their fairy-tale story romantic, but she has no interest in trying to repeat it. If it were up to her, she’d put off marriage for as long as possible.

But a princess’s life is never entirely her own, and Eadlyn can’t escape her very own Selection—no matter how fervently she protests.

Eadlyn doesn’t expect her story to end in romance. But as the competition begins, one entry may just capture Eadlyn’s heart, showing her all the possibilities that lie in front of her . . . and proving that finding her own happily ever after isn’t as impossible as she’s always thought.

Teresa Hamilton is having a rough year—she’s in love with her big brother’s best friend, but he hasn’t spoken to her since they shared a truly amazing, mind-blowing, change-your-life kiss. She got out of a terrible relationship. And now an injury is threatening to end her dance career for good. It’s time for Plan B – college. And maybe a chance to convince Jase that what they have together is real.

Jase Winstead has a huge secret that he’s not telling anyone. Especially not his best friend’s incredibly beautiful sister. Even though he and Teresa shared the hottest kiss of his life, he knows that his responsibilities must take priority. He certainly doesn’t have time for a relationship. But it doesn’t help that all he can think about kissing the one girl who could ruin everything for him.

As they’re thrown together more and more, Jase and Tess can’t keep denying their feelings for each other. But a familiar danger looms and tragedy strikes. As the campus recovers, the star-crossed couple must decide what they’re willing to risk to be together, and what they’re willing to lose if they’re not…

At 21, Calla hasn’t done a lot of things. She’s never been kissed, never seen the ocean, never gone to an amusement park. But growing up, she witnessed some things no child ever should. She still carries the physical and emotional scars of living with a strung-out mother, Mona—secrets she keeps from everyone, including her close circle of college friends.

But the safe cocoon Calla has carefully built is shattered when she discovers her mom has stolen her college money and run up a huge credit card debt in her name. Now, Calla has to go back to the small town she thought she’d left behind and clean up her mom’s mess again. Of course, when she arrives at her mother’s bar, Mona is nowhere to be found. Instead, six feet of hotness named Jackson James is pouring drinks and keeping the place humming.

Sexy and intense, Jax is in Calla’s business from the moment they meet, giving her a job and helping her search for Mona. And the way he looks at her makes it clear he wants to get horizontal . . . and maybe something more. Before Calla can let him get close, though, she’s got to deal with the pain of the past—and some very bad guys out to mess her up if she doesn’t give them her mom.

“Brilliant idea! Excellent! Muslim dating? Well, I had no idea you were allowed to date.’ Then he leaned towards me and looked at me sympathetically. ‘Are your parents quite disappointed?’

Unlucky in love once again after her possible-marriage-partner-to-be proves a little too close to his parents, Sofia Khan is ready to renounce men for good. Or at least she was, until her boss persuades her to write a tell-all expose about the Muslim dating scene.

As her woes become her work, Sofia must lean on the support of her brilliant friends, baffled colleagues and baffling parents as she goes in search of stories for her book. In amongst the marriage-crazy relatives, racist tube passengers and decidedly odd online daters, could there be a a lingering possibility that she might just be falling in love . . . ?

Novelisation by David Solomons (BAFTA nominated screenwriter of The Fabulous Bagel Boys, Five Children and It) of the quirky romantic comedy film Not Another Happy Ending, starring Karen Gillan (Amy Pond in Dr Who; Nebula in the forthcoming Marvel movie, Guardians of the Galaxy), French actor Stanley Weber (Therese Desqueyroux, Henry V, Borgia) and Freya Manov (Skins).

With her debut novel, Happy Ending, JANE LOCKHART pulled off that rare double – critical acclaim and mainstream success.But now, with just the last chapter of the follow-up book to write, she encounters crippling writer’s block. She has no idea how her story ends…

This is not good news for her publisher, TOM DUVAL. His company is up against the wall financially and the only thing that will save him is a massive hit, in the form of Jane’s next novel.

When he discovers that his most important author is blocked, Tom realises that he has to unblock her or he’s finished. Everyone knows that you have to be unhappy to be really creative, so Tom decides that the only way he’s going to get her to complete the novel is to make her life a misery…

Set within the Scottish publishing industry, and filmed against a stunning backdrop of both romantic and hip Glasgow locations, Not Another Happy Ending is perfect for fans of One Day

‘The moon was speckled like a bird’s egg. It hung reliably in the blackness above Will Turnbull and Nessa Grier who sat side by side on a bench as the leaves fell around them, landing softly on the thick, wet grass. Their knees were just touching, hearts pounding hard.’

Nessa Bruce waits for her husband to come through the double doors. She’d waited for him to return home from Afghanistan for what felt like forever, and now the moment was finally here. But Jake isn’t… Jake Bruce hasn’t come home, and it looks like he never will.

Nessa’s life – and that of her daughter Poppy – is turned upside down in an instant. What has happened to the elusive man at the centre of their world? They hold onto the hope that he is still out there somewhere, alive… but as time passes by, Nessa is forced to look at her life, at the decisions she has made and the secrets she has kept. For maybe somewhere within it all lies the answer to the question she’s desperate to answer – where is the man she loves?

Jill MacSweeney just wishes everything could go back to normal. But ever since her dad died, she’s been isolating herself from her boyfriend, her best friends—everyone who wants to support her. And when her mom decides to adopt a baby, it feels like she’s somehow trying to replace a lost family member with a new one.

Mandy Kalinowski understands what it’s like to grow up unwanted—to be raised by a mother who never intended to have a child. So when Mandy becomes pregnant, one thing she’s sure of is that she wants a better life for her baby. It’s harder to be sure of herself. Will she ever find someone to care for her, too?

As their worlds change around them, Jill and Mandy must learn to both let go and hold on, and that nothing is as easy—or as difficult—as it seems.

I thought I would do a post talking about my resolutions for this year, I only have a few but I think each one will make me significantly happier, so lets hope I can stick to them!

1) Lose weight
This must be among the most popular resolutions, and it been on my list for more years than I care to remember. However in 2013 I lost 2 and a half stone, and while I lost focus in 2014, I kept the weight off and so I am positive I can do it again. I have a lot of weight to lose and it may take me more than one year to achieve the amount of weight I wish to get rid of, I am positive if I re-focus I can do it!

Milked by Lisa Doyle has just been released by Simon and Fig, an independent US publisher, specialising in Chick Lit, Lad Lit & Women’s Fiction! Check out this book and you can see where to buy from on the publishers website.

Synopsis

By and large, Amanda Keane makes pretty good decisions. Okay, she might not have the best taste in men, but she’s got great friends, a good job, and an independent spirit. That is, until her 30th birthday ushers in a whirlwind romance with a sexy Irish musician who leaves her, not at the altar as she imagined, but accidentally pregnant. And when he disappears, she’s downsized out of a job, her apartment is robbed, and lapsed health insurance coverage leaves her with a C-section to pay for, Amanda is launched headfirst into the life of a broke single mom. But her friend and uber successful ob-gyn, Joy, clues her in to an unlikely temp position with one of Chicago’s celebrity elite that just may be the answer to all her woes. Or could it be just the beginning?